Moffat County Commission names board appointees

Appointees

The Moffat County Commission named several residents to an assortment of county boards during its meeting Wednesday:

• Finance corporation:

— Dave Fleming

— Stacey Razzano

• Hamilton Community Center:

— Debra Wellman

— Robin Hamill

— Phyllis Myers

— Stephanie Jeffcoat

• Health insurance:

— Rick Holford

— Mindy Curtis

— Linda DeRose

— Pat Mosbey

— Dan Davidson

• Hospital:

— Don Myers

— Gary Ellgen

• Housing authority:

— Rod Durhan

— Dan Johnson

• Land Use:

— Dave Watson, recreation representative

— Burt Clements, recreation alternate

— Dean Gent, land owner alternate

— T. Wright Dickinson, agriculture representative

— Doug Wellman, agriculture alternate

— Jean Stetson, business alternate

— Jeff Simon, environment representative

— Bob Grubb, environment alternate

— Steve Hinkemeyer, minerals/mining representative

• Library:

— Jennifer Riley

• Maybell Community Center:

— Lois Stoffle

• Museum:

— Six open seats plus alternates to be determined

• Planning & Zoning Commission:

— Rick Barnes

— Charles Locke

— Tom Soos

• Employee retirement:

— Ute Jantz

• Tourism association:

— Bryce Jacobson

— Leona Hemmerich

— Dee Bates

— Tammie Thompson-Booker

— Christopher Gamble

Vacancies remain for the following boards (number of vacancies in parentheses):

• 14th Judicial Community Corrections — 1

• Finance Corporation — 1

• Planning & Zoning Commission — 1

• Library — 1

• Employee Retirement — 1

People interested in filling the vacancies may send a letter of interest to Erin Miller, Moffat County administrative assistant, at emiller@moffatcou.... Note that you must be a county employee to volunteer for the Employee Retirement Board.

The Moffat County Commission appointed Wednesday several community residents to an assortment of county boards.

But, before the commission announced the appointments, it first designated a chairperson for 2012.

Unlike other counties where the chairperson is elected or the commissioner with the most seniority is appointed, it has been a tradition in Moffat County to rotate the position each year by district.

This year, Tom Gray, county representative from District 1, will oversee the commission.

“I like that a lot because there are a lot of issues that we deal with,” Gray said. “The chairman runs the meeting and signs the paperwork, but a chairman isn’t more powerful, and shouldn’t be, than the other two commissioners.

“I think it’s a great way to do it. It’s a good system.”

Gray is in the final year of his second term and this year will mark his third as chairman.

After appointing Gray chairman, the commission next turned to the board appointments.

This year, there were 45 open seats for 13 of the county’s 21 boards.

They were:

• One seat for the 14th Judicial District Community Corrections Board.

• Three seats for the finance corporation board.

• Four seats for the Hamilton Community Center Board.

• Five seats for the health insurance board.

• Two seats for the hospital board.

• Two seats for the housing authority.

• Eight seats plus alternates for the Land Use Board.

• Two seats for the library board.

• One seat for the Maybell Community Center Board.

• Six seats for the Museum of Northwest Colorado Board.

• Four seats for the Planning and Zoning Commission.

• Two seats for the employee retirement board.

• Five seats for the Moffat County Tourism Association Board.

Included with this year’s submissions were a multitude of residents vying for reappointment. The commission decided to stay with the majority of those current members, but decided to shake up two of the boards by not reappointing Kerry Moe for the Moffat County Tourism Association Board.

“It’s nothing personal against Kerry,” Gray said. “We had a lot of board members reapply for MCTA this year in addition to a couple of new folks and we didn’t want to set the precedence that serving on the board in the past automatically guarantees you a spot in the future.

“We want to make sure people understand they can apply and to bring in fresh perspectives.”

MCTA Director Melody Villard said Thursday she didn’t agree with the commission’s decision.

“I’m disappointed and I think I am taking it a little harder than she (Moe) is,” Villard said.

Villard believes the commission did not reappoint Moe because they didn’t understand her true intentions.

“Sometimes when you get somebody with a really strong personality and is passionate, you tend to get the wrong impression because they can be confused as being controversial,” Villard said. “I think the impression of the commission was that Kerry was controversial and they didn’t recognize her passion.”

More upsetting than the decision to remove Moe was the process by which the commission came to its determination, Villard said.

“There was no communication from the commission to the board,” Villard said. “I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to the commission about the direction the board is heading or what I see as our strengths and weaknesses.”

Had Villard been given the opportunity to discuss MCTA appointments with the commission, she said she would have fought to keep Moe and would have pointed out that the organization’s bylaws allow for the appointment of an alternate.

Chris Gamble, manager of the Holiday Inn of Craig who was appointed as Moe’s replacement, would have been a perfect applicant for an alternate position, Villard said.

“I think it’s great to get that fresh perspective from someone who is brand new to the community and new to the area,” Villard said. “But, this is a tough board and I think having that person in an alternate role would be a lot better so they have a chance to get their feet wet.”

Gamble has worked in the hospitality industry for a number of years all over the country. For the last 20 years he has worked in the San Diego area. He arrived in Craig days ago.

“I’m very excited about the appointment to the MCTA Board,” Gamble said. “I think this is an area that is strikingly beautiful and not as well known as it should be and I think the efforts of the MCTA Board to bring that knowledge of the area out to the general public is vital for growth.”

Although disappointed her time on the MCTA Board is over after serving for one year, Moe, who owns the Best Western Deer Park Inn and Suites with her husband, Frank, said her enthusiasm for Moffat County and the tourism industry remains intact.

“Just because I’m not on a board certainly is not going to affect my passion for tourism,” Moe said. “We fell in love with Moffat County when my husband and I moved here 23 years ago.

“We’re blessed to live in such a beautiful area with so many wonderful assets and so many wonderful people. We are fortunate to have been this successful, and helping with the MCTA Board was my way of giving back.”

Moe said if she were to give Gamble one piece of advice it would be to soak in as much of Moffat County as possible.

“We’ve got so much to offer here, we’re really lucky,” Moe said. “It’s been a blessing for us and I’m very passionate about Moffat County.”

Of the 45 seats available, appointments were made Wednesday to all but five.

Remaining vacancies include one seat each on the 14th Judicial District Community Corrections Board, finance corporation, Planning and Zoning Commission, library board and the employee retirement board.

Gray said he appreciates all of the people who have stepped up so far and hopes a few more people are out there to fill the few remaining slots.

“The people who volunteer are important because we as commissioners can’t sit on every board, nor should we,” Gray said. “It takes a special kind of person to volunteer and I appreciate those who do because the majority of them do so for selfless reasons.”

People interested in filling the vacancies may send a letter of interest to Erin Miller, Moffat County administrative assistant, at emiller@moffatcounty.net.

Note that you must be a county employee to volunteer for the employee retirement board.